Correction: Automated code development based on genetic programming in graphical programming language: A pilot study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Automated code development based on genetic programming in graphical programming language: A pilot study.

Continual technological advances associated with the recent automation revolution have tremendously increased the impact of computer technology in the industry. Software development and testing are time-consuming processes, and the current market faces a lack of specialized experts. Introducing automation to this field could, therefore, improve software engineers' common workflow and decrease the time to market.

Explorative Image Analysis of Methylene Blue Interactions with Gelatin in Polypropylene Nonwoven Fabric Membranes: A Potential Future Tool for the Characterization of the Diffusion Process.

This manuscript explores the interaction between methylene blue dye and gelatin within a membrane using spectroscopy and image analysis. Emphasis is placed on methylene blue's unique properties, specifically its ability to oscillate between two distinct resonance states, each with unique light absorption characteristics. Image analysis serves as a tool for examining dye diffusion and absorption.

Antidurotaxis Droplet Motion onto Gradient Brush Substrates.

Durotaxis motion is a spectacular phenomenon manifesting itself by the autonomous motion of a nano-object between parts of a substrate with different stiffness. This motion usually takes place along a stiffness gradient from softer to stiffer parts of the substrate. Here, we propose a new design of a polymer brush substrate that demonstrates antidurotaxis droplet motion, that is, droplet motion from stiffer to softer parts of the substrate.

A high-resolution large-scale dataset of pathological and normal white blood cells.

Microscopic examination plays a significant role in the initial screening for a variety of hematological, as well as non-hematological, diagnoses. Microscopic blood smear examination that is considered a key diagnostic technique, is in recent clinical practice still performed manually, which is not only time consuming, but can lead to human errors. Although automated and semi-automated systems have been developed in recent years, their high purchasing and maintenance costs make them unaffordable for many medical institutions.

Unidirectional Droplet Propulsion onto Gradient Brushes without External Energy Supply.

Using extensive molecular dynamics simulation of a coarse-grained model, we demonstrate the possibility of sustained unidirectional motion (durotaxis) of droplets without external energy supply when placed on a polymer brush substrate with stiffness gradient in a certain direction. The governing key parameters for the specific substrate design studied, which determine the durotaxis efficiency, are found to be the grafting density of the brush and the droplet adhesion to the brush surface, whereas the strength of the stiffness gradient, the viscosity of the droplet, or the length of the polymer chains of the brush have only a minor effect on the process. It is shown that this durotaxial motion is driven by the steady increase of the interfacial energy between droplet and brush as the droplet moves from softer to stiffer parts of the substrate whereby the mean driving force gradually declines with decreasing roughness of the brush surface.

A Repeat Pattern of Founder Events for SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Alaska.

Alaska is a unique US state because of its large size, geographically disparate population density, and physical distance from the contiguous United States. Here, we describe a pattern of SARS-CoV-2 variant emergence across Alaska reflective of these differences. Using genomic data, we found that in Alaska, the Omicron sublineage BA.

Pattern of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.519 emergence in Alaska.

Alaska has the lowest population density in the United States (US) with a mix of urban centers and isolated rural communities. Alaska's distinct population dynamics compared to the contiguous US may have contributed to unique patterns of SARS-CoV-2 variants observed in early 2021. Here we examined 2323 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Alaska and 278,635 from the contiguous US collected from December 2020 through June 2021 because of the notable emergence and spread of lineage B.

Deformation of Gels with Spherical Auxetic Inclusions.

Auxetic metamaterials possess unnatural properties, such as a negative Poisson's ratio, which offers interesting features when combined with traditional materials. This paper describes the deformation behavior of a gel consisting of spherical auxetic inclusions when embedded in a conventional matrix. The auxetic inclusions and conventional matrix were modeled as spherical objects with a controlled pore shape.

A repeat pattern of founder events for SARS-CoV-2 variants in Alaska.

Alaska is a unique US state because of its large size, geographically disparate population density, and physical distance from the contiguous United States. Here, we describe a pattern of SARS-CoV-2 variant emergence across Alaska reflective of these differences. Using genomic data, we found that in Alaska the Omicron sublineage BA.

Ex-vivo biomechanical testing of pig femur diaphysis B type fracture fixed by novel biodegradable bone glue.

Aims: The aim of this study was to answer the question whether our newly developed injectable biodegradable "self-setting" polymer-composite as a bone adhesive is a good "bone-glue" candidate to efficiently fix comminuted fractures of pig femoral bones used as an ex-vivo experimental model.

Methods: Mechanical properties of adhesive prepared from α-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) powder and thermogelling copolymer were optimized by selecting the appropriate composition with adhesion enhancers based on dopamine and sodium iodinate. Setting time and injectability were controlled by rheology.

Automated Detection of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia From Microscopic Images Based on Human Visual Perception.

Microscopic image analysis plays a significant role in initial leukemia screening and its efficient diagnostics. Since the present conventional methodologies partly rely on manual examination, which is time consuming and depends greatly on the experience of domain experts, automated leukemia detection opens up new possibilities to minimize human intervention and provide more accurate clinical information. This paper proposes a novel approach based on conventional digital image processing techniques and machine learning algorithms to automatically identify acute lymphoblastic leukemia from peripheral blood smear images.

Effects of Cryopreservation on Cell Metabolic Activity and Function of Biofabricated Structures Laden with Osteoblasts.

Biofabrication and maturation of bone constructs is a long-term task that requires a high degree of specialization. This specialization falls onto the hierarchy complexity of the bone tissue that limits the transfer of this technology to the clinic. This work studied the effects of the short-term cryopreservation on biofabricated osteoblast-containing structures, with the final aim to make them steadily available in biobanks.

Effect of Porosity Gradient on Mechanical Properties of Cellular Nano-Composites.

With their hierarchical architectures incorporating gradients in composition, porosity, and orientation, natural materials have evolved optimized balance of mechanical properties. Deciphered from the structure of bamboo, we prepared cellular solids with convex and/or concave porosity gradient and investigated their static mechanical and impact properties. Non-monotonous porosity dependences of tensile, crush, and impact strength were related to the shape of porosity gradient rather than to the properties of the wall material alone.

Dynamic Responsive Formation of Nanostructured Fibers in a Hydrogel Network: A Molecular Dynamics Study.

In an effort to study natural fiber formation, such as, e.g., spider silk, we present a model, which is capable of forming biomimetic fibrillar nanostructure from a hydrogel micellar network.

Small-sized platinum nanoparticles in soil organic matter: Influence on water holding capacity, evaporation and structural rigidity.

Engineered and anthropogenic nanoparticles represent a new type of pollutants. Up until now, many studies have reported its adverse effect on biota, but the potential influence on the properties and functions of environmental compartments has largely been ignored. In this work, the effect of Pt nanoparticles on the functions and properties of model soil organic matter has been studied.

The 3D imaging of mesenchymal stem cells on porous scaffolds using high-contrasted x-ray computed nanotomography.

This study presents an X-ray computed nanotomography (nano-CT) based, high-resolution imaging technique. Thanks to a voxel resolution of 540 nm, this novel technique is suitable for observing the 3D morphology of soft biopolymeric scaffolds seeded with stem cells. A sample of highly porous collagen scaffold seeded with contrasted mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) was investigated by using lab-based nano-CT.

Environmental footprints of food consumption and dietary patterns among Lebanese adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Following the release of the Sustainable Development Goals, dietary patterns and guidelines are being revised for their effect on the environment in addition to their health implications. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the Environmental Footprints (EFPs) of food consumption patterns among Lebanese adults.

Methods: For this study, data for adults aged > 18 years (n = 337) were drawn from a previous national survey conducted in Lebanon (2008-2009), where dietary intake was assessed using a 61-item Food Frequency Questionnaire.

Incorporating High-Dimensional Exposure Modelling into Studies of Air Pollution and Health.

Performing studies on the risks of environmental hazards on human health requires accurate estimates of exposures that might be experienced by the populations at risk. Often there will be missing data and in many epidemiological studies, the locations and times of exposure measurements and health data do not match. To a large extent this will be due to the health and exposure data having arisen from completely different data sources and not as the result of a carefully designed study, leading to problems of both 'change of support' and 'misaligned data'.

The Effect of Network Solvation on the Viscoelastic Response of Polymer Hydrogels.

The majority of investigations consider the deformation response of hydrogels, fully controlled by the deformation behavior of their polymer network, neglecting the contribution caused by the presence of water. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulation in an attempt to include the effect of physically bound water via polymer chain solvation on the viscoelastic response of hydrogels. Our model allows us to control the solvation of chains as an independent variable.

Non-Invasive Fetal Monitoring: A Maternal Surface ECG Electrode Placement-Based Novel Approach for Optimization of Adaptive Filter Control Parameters Using the LMS and RLS Algorithms.

This paper is focused on the design, implementation and verification of a novel method for the optimization of the control parameters (such as step size μ and filter order ) of LMS and RLS adaptive filters used for noninvasive fetal monitoring. The optimization algorithm is driven by considering the ECG electrode positions on the maternal body surface in improving the performance of these adaptive filters. The main criterion for optimal parameter selection was the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).

Development of a standardized measure to assess food quality: a proof of concept.

Background: Food-based dietary guidelines are promoted to improve diet quality. In applying dietary recommendations, such as the MyPlate, the number of servings in a food group is the unit of measure used to make food selections. However, within each food group, different foods can vary greatly in their nutritional quality despite often having similar energy (caloric) values.

Mitigating the effects of preferentially selected monitoring sites for environmental policy and health risk analysis.

The potential effects of air pollution are a major concern both in terms of the environment and in relation to human health. In order to support both environmental and health policy there is a need for accurate estimates of the exposures that populations might experience. The information for this typically comes from environmental monitoring networks but often the locations of monitoring sites are preferentially located in order to detect high levels of pollution.

Accurate micro-computed tomography imaging of pore spaces in collagen-based scaffold.

In this work we have used X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) as a method to observe the morphology of 3D porous pure collagen and collagen-composite scaffolds useful in tissue engineering. Two aspects of visualizations were taken into consideration: improvement of the scan and investigation of its sensitivity to the scan parameters. Due to the low material density some parts of collagen scaffolds are invisible in a μCT scan.

A novel LabVIEW-based multi-channel non-invasive abdominal maternal-fetal electrocardiogram signal generator.

This paper describes the design, construction, and testing of a multi-channel fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) signal generator based on LabVIEW. Special attention is paid to the fetal heart development in relation to the fetus' anatomy, physiology, and pathology. The non-invasive signal generator enables many parameters to be set, including fetal heart rate (FHR), maternal heart rate (MHR), gestational age (GA), fECG interferences (biological and technical artifacts), as well as other fECG signal characteristics.